WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) — As omicron cases fall across some parts of the United States, international health officials are now warning about a new variant.
"BA.2" is a sub-variant of omicron and has been labeled “variant under investigation" by health officials in the United Kingdom who say they are now monitoring the newest strain.
Also dubbed "stealth omicron," the World Health Organization is reporting cases of BA.2 in more than 40 countries including the U.S., India, Germany and Australia.
It's not clear where this mutation originated or whether vaccines are effective against this new strain, but infectious disease experts say that people who have experienced breakthrough infections with omicron could have enhanced immunity, or what some are calling "super immunity."
"People who have gotten a breakthrough infection are probably going to be in really great shape moving forward," Thomas Unnasch, a USF Health Professor at the College of Public Health told CBS12 News. "How long that immunity will last we don't know.
Experts are now exploring whether people who had the vaccine and omicron could develop "super immunity," and be better protected against BA.2.
"Omicron is acting like a super booster," Unnasch said. "People who have gotten omicron are going to be really well protected against infection, not just disease moving forward, which is a really good sign."